Asthma patients suffer from breathing disorders. Gasping for air, panting and sweating are few of the common symptoms of a person suffering from an asthma attack. One of the best but an appalling remedy for all the patients suffering from asthma flare-ups that are very sudden and spontaneous in nature is implementing miniscule electrical stimulus under the neck.

Renowned researchers from five institutions in USA have concluded that electrical stimulus is a safe option. It plays a significant role of unblocking the air passage that has been obstructed that causes lack of oxygen to reach the lungs. It is a great medication that can be used during severe asthma attacks and even when medicine fail to show wonders. According to the American Lung Association, approximately 23million Americans are suffering from this deadly disease.

The scientific study that was conducted by eminent researchers from five different esteemed US institutions had four alert and receptive adults between the ages of 26 years and 58 years that suffered from asthma. These patients had been brought to a hospital in the emergency room while suffering from mild to severe asthma attacks that failed to improve despite using inhalers and effective anti-inflammatory medication (steroids).

The treatment was considered a disappointment if the patient was successful in attaining a maximum score of 70% or less in the lung function test that calculated the amount of air that could be easily forced out of the patient’s lungs after inhaling a deep breath. This activity is generally referred as force expiratory volume, or FEV. FEV1 is the amount of air that is let out by the patient in the first second.

Electrical Stimulation Procedure

The electrical promptness during a severe attack or when medicines fail to work is a modest and an omnipresent technique that is carried out while the patient is conscious and awake. The neck area is the place where the electrical stimulus is given hence anesthesia is applied to the same. The doctor would proceed by plugging an electrode under the skin of the neck and thus the surrounding tissue including the carotid artery and vagus nerve are encompassed as well. The display of live ultrasound graphics would facilitate the placement further.

The subjects of this particular research received placid and incessant electrical stimuli for a span of three hours that ranged from 1-12 volts. The enhanced voltage resulted in easing the symptoms or it even resulted in facilitating muscle contracting and a sense of discomfort.

The researchers meticulously measured the breathing patterns before the electrical stimulus was given every half an hour during the implementation of the electrical remedy and also after the entire method was implemented.

After half an hour of injecting electrical stimulus for severe asthma flare-ups the subjects were able easily propel more air out of the lungs and the FEV1 score increased for half an hour after the electrical remedy.

The team of researchers state that electrical stimulus is an easy and medicine free method that helps in gushing out more air from the lungs after a deep breath. It is a non-air-flow pattern that has great results. It is effective in opening the obstructed airways in a quick manner. The findings of this research will be announced in San Diego in CHEST 2009 at American College of Chest Physicians.

Some of the common symptoms of ADHD are visible in people that include incessant fiddling, short attention span, and unable to complete any task. There are other distinguished symptoms as well. There are various types of ADHD that are used to treat the basic ADHD and treatment is advised by consuming medicines like Ritalin.

The symptoms of ADHD may be confusing and may lead you to conclude prevalence of other disorders. The symptoms sometimes are easily understood and other times are very complex hence not easily identifiable. Doctors trust that examining the brain and its functions would help in treating ADHD. Dr Daniel Amen has successfully created his version of ADHD subtypes that are dependent on the scans of the brain.

Diagnosis of ADHD

Majorly doctors opine that the identification of ADHD is done by numerous tests that are especially designed to measure hyperactivity and inattentiveness that is clearly mention in the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). If a particular patient is suffering from ADHD then the typical behavioral symptoms should have been prevalent for more than six months and should be severe in nature.

The symptoms of inattention are as follows :

• Missing out details
• Making sloppy mistakes
• Short attention span
• Inability to patiently hear
• Incapable to comprehend instructions
• Excessively and easily distracted
• Shrugging away tasks that need effort
• Forgetfulness

The symptoms of Hyperactivity of ADHD are as follows :

• Fiddling
• Wriggling
• Unable to remain seated in one place for a long time
• Incessant talking
• Making noise while playing or any other activity

The above mentioned symptoms determine the criteria of the various types of ADHD. There are three basic types of ADHD disorder.

The first is ADHD Combined type that has both the symptoms of hyperactivity and inattentiveness. The second type is primarily the inattentive type that clearly lacks hyperactivity symptoms and the third type is the hyperactive type of ADHD that lacks inattention symptoms.

Dr. Amen has classified ADHD disorder as per the scans of the brain and their functioning. The basic symptoms include inattentiveness, easily distracted, much disorganized and lack of inner control.

These symptoms and the scans of the brain which directly display the attention span and memory have determined six types of ADHD disorders.

Classic ADHD – It has all the basic symptoms and has hyperactivity symptoms as well.

Inattentive ADHD – It has the basic symptoms of ADHD and the patient suffers from low levels of energy.

Overfocused ADHD – It has the basic symptoms of ADHD and the patient displays a host of pessimistic behavior like arguments and fights. Patients are given antidepressants as well.

Temporal Lobe ADHD – It has the basic symptoms of ADHD and the behavior of the patient is dominated by irritation and assertiveness. Patients respond to antiseizure medication.

Limbic ADHD – It has the basic symptoms of ADHD along with bouts of depression and low levels of motivation. Patients imbibe antidepressants.

The Ring of Fire – It has combined symptoms of ADHD and the bipolar disease. The patient suffers from mood swings, assertiveness and annoyance. Patients are treated with anticonvulsants.

As per the suggestions of early research, treatment using oral contraceptives can help premenopausal in treating asthma though the symptoms of asthma are not associated with the menstrual cycles.

In a rigorous research conducted by at University of Alberta, the researchers have proved that varying levels of progesterone and estrogen can have straight effect on the markings of air duct inflammation. Oral contraceptives are used as supplementary treatments for women suffering from asthma whose symptoms are linked closely with their periods. The data to prove the influence of the sex hormones progesterone and estrogen on asthma was not available earlier and with this research proving it, new methods for treating asthma for pregnant women have evolved.

The research was conducted on seventeen premenopausal women who had moderate or severe asthma and were asked to meet the research crew everyday over the time span of 36 days till the entire menstrual cycle was complete. The measurement of levels of progesterone and estrogen were done each day and also the marking of air duct inflammation and asthma symptoms were supervised every day. Also, the skin-prick allergy tests were carried out every alternate day. The research required lot of efforts from every person involved and problems like university closure, snow storms and power outages were faced during it. But with much effort from everyone, 99 percent of the planned assessments were carried out with fail.

9 of the women in study were making use of oral contraceptives and 8 were not using them. Out of seventeen women, four had asthma symptoms associated with menstrual cycle. Since women who take oral contraceptives did not have noticeable modifications in the progestin and estrogen during their menstrual cycles, they did not anticipate any variations in the asthma throughout their menstrual cycle.

Women who do not take oral contraceptive must have changes in the levels of progesterone and estrogen which can cause some variations in the markers. The women who feel large variations in progesterone but minimal changes in estrogen during the menstrual cycle are most likely susceptible to asthma related cycle.

Mandhane hopes that the determinations prove the bigger studies examining the use of oral contraceptives for treatment with premenopausal women. The famous pain reliever acetaminophen has been associated with an enhanced risk of asthma in adults and children based on a new research review of the articles published earlier by Canadian researchers.

The research has successfully proved that throughout menstruation period, women who suffer from asthma and did not take oral contraceptives had smaller levels of breathed out Nitric Oxide (eNO) which is an indicator of air duct inflammation. Also, the women who do not use oral contraceptives had greater average eNo levels that the women who used oral contraceptives. Also, among the asthma infected women who did not use oral contraceptives, the estrogen levels were increased with the reduction in eNO, while the increase progesterone levels was mainly linked with the increase in levels of eNO. Scientists ponder that Oral contraceptives can have crucial role in managing asthma treatment in premenopausal women.